Streams

From Churches to Condos

Detailed stain glass in an historic building in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

As congregations shrink or disappear, some churches are becoming condos. DNAinfo has mapped historic churches that have been converted into condos in brownstone Brooklyn, and Janet Upadhye talks about what the trend says about the future and past of the borough.

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Comments [21]

Ann-Isabel Friedman
from New York, NY

One caller to the show cited residential conversion of a Harlem church near Fifth Avenue and 126th; the producer thought this must be St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, a NYC landmark; however, St. Andrew's is alive and well as a church, and having completed major exterior slate roof restoration, is actively fundraising to launch repair of its areaway "moat" - masonry light wells and exits, and an accessibility project. The project the caller cited is the former Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, historic but not a designated landmark, rescued from demolition and currently being converted not to condos, but to noncommercial gallery/community & residence by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, a successful adaptive reuse.

Oh boo hoo, the landscape has changed a bunch of times since the Europeans got to Brooklyn. All the bemoaners paying 4k/monht in rent should stop using their indoor plumbing and put back in the coal stoves if they love preservation so much.

Same with the small business owner, your property is worth more then your business, how can you say no to the millions of dollars offered for your property space. A shame to lose a church, though. It spells community, neighborhood, care, concern....a church, in spite of their dwindling congregations, speaks volumes. What is the point in building all these residential condos when there is no where to shop, eat, worship as the enormous increase in rents are driving business away .... or they too have been converted to condos!? Crazy, greedy capitalists and developers, the sneaky deals conducted while Bloomberg was Mayor are continuing to plague us.

St. Luke's Academy on Washington Ave in Clinton Hill is in the Parish Hall of one of these churches mentioned. It is a fabulous, nurturing and AFFORDABLE preschool that's been serving this community for 25 years. The Parish Hall and gym have also been host to all sorts of community groups and activities. It is a true disservice to turn this into condos. There is already a shortage of childcare in this area, and two luxury rental apartments going up next door. This beautiful block in historic Brownstone Brooklyn, and the neighborhood as a whole, do not need more expensive apartments built and less schools and daycare!

Sadly, people are not taking into account the things that are often housed in these churches and their joining buildings. St. Luke's Church on Washington Avenue is one such church being sold, which this program discussed. The back building houses a wonderful preschool that has been a part of the community for decades. Most importantly, it is one of the last remaining affordable childcare options in the neighborhood, which is definitely a necessity for many families as the area becomes ever more expensive. The parents and neighborhood organizations are trying to stop the sell of this back building, which also houses a large gym with theater and a basement basketball court. This historical building could serve as an important community space for so many, along with the preschool. If the school closes, so many families are locked out of childcare and all the wonderful staff lose their jobs.

Finally, this real estate is being returned to the property tax rolls vs. receiving full exemptions as religious institutions. These additional property tax revenues can only help NYC. The more of these that return to paying taxes the better.

I taught at MS 113 in the neighborhood for years and watched many of these conversions as they took place (Cumberland & Adelphi especially). I don't necessarily have an aversion to churches being converted to living space as long as 1. it only happens in congregations that are defunct and 2. there is some requirement within the deal to preserve the architectural integrity of the building so that it remains in character with the neighborhood. My bigger, much bigger concern is the fact that no teacher I worked with could afford any of these units with sale prices from !.7 million and rents from $4000/mo. Where will non-millionaires live in this city?! Where do teachers, garbage men, cops, etc live? The answer is not in the city! The we have complaints about teachers and cops that are out of touch with the residents they serve, because they can't afford to live in the area they serve!

It's better that an 1888 structure is preserved, but what does this say about our city? Is the life-blood of our city condo developers and high rent condo owners, no longer a simple congregation that pooled their meager funds to erect a noble place of worship? Hyper capitalism has taken root and now is choking out everything else.

Please, no triumphalism (comments *). Churches exist to help focus the fight against immorality in society, and in case you haven't noticed the church build-down does correspond with significant indicators of increased amorality in American society right now. Wall street and Washington to start... (* Comments in pretty much any WNYC story on religion for the past decade)

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